


Tony Stark Sucks at Subtlety (Steve's No Better At Picking Up Hints)

by tonystarkssnipples



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Tree, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-19
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 04:15:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2799212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tonystarkssnipples/pseuds/tonystarkssnipples
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony keeps dropping hints to Steve.</p><p>Steve just doesn't get it.</p><p>Until he does.</p><p>HOLIDAY THEMED SHMOOP AWAITS!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello-shellhead came to me and explained that she wanted to do a holiday comic but couldn't think of a plot. So I wrote the fic, she did the art (check it out, it's beautiful, it's in chapter two).

“Hey Steve, look!” Tony said. Steve turned away from the giant Christmas tree, where he was currently hanging tinsel, to watch as Tony make Christmas decoration sized versions of them kissing. “‘ _Oh Tony, you’re such a good kisser_.’ ‘I know Steve, decades of practice will do that to you.’ ‘ _You don’t need practice_.’”

“Did Natasha tell you about that?” Steve snapped.

“About what?”

“Uh… nothing. Are you really going to put those on the tree, Tony?”

Tony reached over to the box that held mini versions of the entire team. “They’re a handmade gift from a fan _and_ they make my ass look good—”

“Because when you’re in that metal box, your ass is so prominent.”

Tony glared. “—so, _yes_ , we’re putting them on the tree. Gimmie a boost, Cap. They belong near the top.”

Steve rolled his eyes but bent at the knees, cupping his hands for Tony to step into. Once the shorter man was secure, leaning on Steve’s shoulder, Steve hoisted him up to place the decorations.

“Higher!” Tony shouted, moving his feet to Steve’s shoulders. Steve’s hands shot up to rest on Tony’s waist, securing him. That… felt kind of nice.

One by one, the toy Avengers were added to the tree. Steve couldn’t help but smile at Tony’s joy for the simple act of decorating the Christmas tree.

“I’ve been done for, like, three hours. You gonna put me down?” Tony joked, snapping Steve out of his stupor.

“Yup, coming down,” he announced before slowly lowering Tony to the ground. He placed Tony in front of him before standing back to his full height. “They look nice up there,” Steve mused. When he turned back to Tony, he realized that he was being stared at with brown eyes. Unconsciously, Steve’s tongue darted out to wet his lips.

“I have to be somewhere that’s not here,” Tony said, exciting the room quickly. Steve looked after him. What the hell had just happened?

—

Christmas came and went. The team exchanged gifts under the decorated tree. Steve had knitted sweaters of the softest material any of them had ever felt.

Natasha gave out one promise to everyone on a small slip of paper. They weren’t allowed to share with the rest of the group. Steve’s read _You’re the first real friend I ever had. Thank you for trusting me even when I didn’t trust myself. I’ll never forget what you did for me or what I did for you. We’ll find Bucky. I Promise._

Steve fought to swallow after reading it.

Clint gave himself underwear, each designed after one member of the team. “See, I’m giving you the gift of not having to deal with my nudity.”

Thor brought some mysterious Asgardian stuff that Steve would figure out how to use later.

Bruce made specialized teas, each designed after the receiver’s taste preferences. Steve had had some of Bruce’s homemade teas before; they were fabulous.

When it was Tony’s turn to give out gifts, the brunet let out a long blow of air and looked around the room. “So, I’m shit at gift giving. Ask Pepper about the incident with the giant bunny next time you get a chance. Instead of giving you each a gift or throwing money at you, I’ve decided to give you each an experience. You won’t know what it is or when it’s coming, but when it does, you’ll be damn glad you were surprised. Nothing bad.

“Oh, I also gave two million dollar donation to a charity that fits you most, in your names. So yeah, the envelopes hold the certificates.”

“Hold up,” Steve mumbled, opening his envelope. “Two million dollars _each_. As in _ten million dollars?_ ”

Tony just shrugged and left the room.

—

Steve didn’t see Tony again until New Years Eve. There was a black tie event going on in the tower. Steve hated these dumb things. He was always so uncomfortable. It wasn’t the crowds or the suits but the fact that people would come up to him, pretend to know him, pretend to care, then move on to the next Star on the list, doing the same thing. It made him feel five feet tall again. Insignificant.

At this point, the majority of the party goers were wasted and the women were shedding their shoes to go to the slowly forming clearing in the middle of the room; a makeshift dance floor for men and woman to writhe against each other in hopes of getting lucky.

There were some things Steve would never understand about this century.

Just before midnight, Steve spotted Tony sneaking his way to the elevator. Steve wasn’t sure what compelled him to, but after the elevator had dropped Tony off on the roof and returned to Steve, Steve was pressing the button to follow Tony all the way up.

When Steve arrived, he found Tony pacing, a glass of champagne in his hand.

“Hey Steve,” Tony greeted, not looking over. “JARVIS told me you were on your way up. You can see the ball drop from here,” Tony noted, pointing towards Times Square.

“Oh,” Steve murmured, looking out over the city. “I remember watching that as a little kid. Bucky and I used to sneak into the city to watch it.”

“Ah,” Tony mumbled noncommittally. They watched as the ball started its descent and the numbers counted down from sixty.

“Why’d you run away the other day?” Steve whispered after awhile, coming up behind Tony.

“I was naïvely hoping you’d follow me.”

“And tonight?”

“I walked right by you on purpose.”

_TEN!_

Times Square was miles away, but they could clearly hear the million or so people beginning the final countdown.

_NINE!_

“So…” Steve prodded.

_EIGHT!_

“You know, I’ve never—” _SEVEN!_ “Gone a New Year without a kiss.”

_SIX!_

“Well, I’ve never—” _FIVE!_ “Had a New Year’s kiss.”

_FOUR!_

“Three,” Tony whispered along with the masses, stepping closer to Steve, rolling up onto the balls of his feet. “Two…”

“One,” Steve breathed, before gently leaning toward and placing his lips on Tony’s. Steve’s hands dropped to Tony’s hips, while Tony’s hips tangled in Steve’s hair. Yes, this was so right.

“Merry Christmas,” Tony whispered.

“I think you mean Happy New Year.”

“That, too. But I promised you an experience.”

“You planned this?”

Tony just smirked.

They kissed through _Auld Lang Syne_ and _New York, New York_ , not even registering that it was only 28 degrees outside.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the amazing art by hello-shellhead

 


End file.
